Will I really need 70?? And various other nappy questions...

[Teeki]

I got my first pregnancy mag last weekend, woohoo!! Picking up a few hints and tips. And was so happy to see a section (even though it was tiny) on cloth nappies. We're planning on using them, but it seems no matter how much I read I just get more and more confused

The mag says we'll need 70. Really? That seems like heaps! It said that was based on 10 changes a day, over 7 days a week. I guess that makes sense and washing will be hard to keep up with so it's probably right, I just couldn't believe it! That's gonna cost a fair bit.

Also, is that just one size? Like is that 70 newborn nappies that bubs will grow out of in a month or two, meaning I'll then need 70 of the next size? I just don't know if we'll be able to afford that many nappies if they're going to be around the $20 or higher mark.

The other thing I'm wondering about cloth nappies, is do you wash them straight away? What do you do with them after a change? I know you can get those nappy pail thingies, but are they ok for cloths as well? And should I be doing a load of nappies every day?

Last question is, what happens at night time? I know babies need changing really regularly, so I'm guessing this doesn't change overnight right? It's just that I'm hearing how easy co-sleeping is as you don't have to get up for feeds, but don't you have to get up to change the nappy? We're planning on having bubs in our room in a basinette or cot, but really I'm going to be going into their room to change anyway aren't I? And do I change before or after a feed?

Gosh I feel so clueless!! Thanks for any info or help you might have!

[Ahurani]

Was this practical parenting??? Because I read that too was went 70? What the lol

[Teeki]

Was this practical parenting??? Because I read that too was went 70? What the lol

Lol it was in Cosmo Pregnancy, which is why I'm questioning it. Everything else in there is about pregnancy fashion, so I'm thinking there's a good chance they made a mistake??

Thanks Babyluv, what you've got sounds like such a small number comparitively and it's still $300! With the newborn to toddler, do you mean one nappy will last from newborn to toddler size?

[wysiwyg]

I have got away with around 20 - and have only used one size nappies (so DD wears same ones now as when she was born). Washing every other day - I wouldn't want to wait much longer than 2-3 days before washing them - I mean I suspect you can only fit about 20 in a washing machine. So I think 70 is way over the top, even half that amount is plenty in my opinion.

[Nai]

Ummm no! I had 12 for DD1 and I washed every day. I always had enough and the washing was easy to keep up with. I would think that if you wash every second day then you wouldn't need more than 20. I probably used 7-8 a day so there was always a rotation of some ready to go, some in the wash and some drying. With cloth you probably wouldn't want to leave the washing for more than every second day as things start to smell! I had 12 smalls and 12 large for my DD1 and that was all I ever used in total - I then used these for DD2.

With MCNs you dry pail them after you change them. If they are pooey then you use a scraper or Little Squirt to get rid of the poo in the loo before you bucket them. I would wash daily but I washed daily anyway with chucky babies as they went through so many clothes. DP would generally put the nappies on to wash overnight and hang them out first thing in the morning for maximum drying time.

At night, initially DP would change bub halfway through the feed as they do tend to fall asleep on the boob so to way them up for the other side a nappy change does the trick. We had a change mat set up with nappies at the end of the bed so DP would change the baby, give her back to me and then go and clean up the nappy. As they get older they often don't need the change so unless there was a poo I wouldn't do it.

[Babyluv]

70 if you plan on washing once a week maybe, I have 28 in my stash so will be washing every cpl days. We have nappies that fit newborn to toddler, plus have extra boosters etc, all up our nappies cost us around $300 but we got a promo price.

[Indadhanu]

Um, only if you plan on washing once a week! If you wash every day or two, you can start with 20-30 (thats leaving some room for poo-spolsions and missing a washing day). If money is a huge issue, you can always try pre-folds for the newborn size and then move on to OSFA (one size fits all) nappies.

I think I have almost 70 nappies all up. But thats including about 40 fitteds of various sizes, and a handful of covers, that we used from between birth and 12 months, and I think we have about 24 large itt bittis that we've been using for the last year and a bit. Plus some dedicated night nappies.

I soak in water, but that's my partners issue. I'd prefer to dry pail, and I've heard it's better for the nappies (though ours are still fine with soaking so I don't really know how much truth there is to it). Most people dry pail, but you do have to rinse the urine off bamboo because if you leave it for mroe than 24 hours (I think) it starts to eat the bamboo (so I've read). We used liners to start with, but as she got older her poo became easier to roll into the toilet.

When Jazz was in full-time cloth (she's toilet trained/ing so there only one nappy a day now) we washed every second day, and never really ran out of any nappies. If you're running out then do a load of washing. Not too tricky, and the washing is easy since the washing machine does it all

As for night nappies, thats a really individual one. When she was a newborn I changed her as often during the night as I did during the day. This worked for us since Jazz woke every 1.5-2 hours and wee'd pretty much every time. As she got older I bought night nappies, which are more absorbant and dry the moisture away so we didn't have to change as often. If I knew she was wet or had done a poo I'd change. That's still pretty personal though, I've had people with strong opinions tell me leaving her in a nappy all night is neglect But she would have been in the same one all night if she was sleeping through anyway so You'll get to know their weeing and pooing habits.

[Babyluv]

As for Pailing, you dry pail, just rinse off the poo and chuck them in the bucket until you wash them. Apparently bi carb and essential oil in the bottom of the pail, helps with smells.

[Tiff+2]

I wash every second day and have 16 plus 4 Cushies that I REALLY don't like so never put her in them (what a waste!). I NEVER run out, always got plent clean just incase!

[Teeki]

Thank you everyone!! This really puts my mind at ease, thanks I was beginning to wonder where these 70 nappies were going to go lol I'd be happy to have 30, I reckon we could build up to that number before bubs comes. Then I guess it's a matter of finding out what works for us and going from there.

Thanks for all the advice on sizes and washing etc.

Indadhanu, are fitteds ones that only fit one size?

[*Efjay*]

70 Pfhht who wrote that article. Was a stupid number. I would say plenty of ladies have around that number but that is your hard core collectors!

70! what a joke!

[Indadhanu]

No they were sized: a range of small and mediums that saw Jazz from 4kg to 14kg (she was a very big baby at 1yo!). We used itti bittis since she was 1yo just because I could afford to and they were cute (we bought the fitteds because they were ebay cheapies, which was all we could afford at the time, but they worked fine. Not as great as 'MCN' but does the same job. Not as absorbant, but they were cotton, not bamboo or hemp). Itti bitti have brought out a OSFA recently, which we are considering using for our next bub. I think they are called tutto's?

[Teeki]

Thanks heaps Indadhanu Feeling much more informed about it all now! Now just gotta go figure out which ones I want and buy some hehe Are they usually only available online? I've never actually seen any in a store before

Lol Efjay, I'm guessing whover wrote it possibly works for a napy company!

[~Kim~]

lol obviously written by someone who has never used them....

eta Leasha, I won a Tutto recently and it's FANTASTIC!!

[Kazbah]

meh to 70!!!! The only way I made my 70 was including the terry / flanno flats! And seriously, 20 flats to use as various cloths (spew / shoulder / pram liner etc will do you - I would occaisionally use a terry flat or flanno flat if I was desperate and too poor to buy nappies while I was still in transition!!!!

I *do* recommend getting a pack of terry flats and learning how to fold them, cause if you do that, then sew along the fold lines, you've now created a really simple fitted nappy to use with a snappy.

[Babyluv]

All our nappies are one size fits all, so will last until toilet training and hopefully next bub as well. Very cost effective if you consider the price of sposies. Ours came with extra snap in boosters for night time. Our nappies are bamboo and soaking is not recommended for bamboo hence the dry pailing. Line drying in the sun eliminates stains and is the best defense against germs. You can't use barrier creams with the bamboo nappies as it effects the absorbency.

[~Hestia~]

Okay haven't read the replies but wanted to quickly answer your questions!

I think 70 is a huge number of nappies to start off with. I have about maybe 8 sized MCNs that Moo fits in right now, maybe 10 one size fits all and another 6 that he's grown out of.

I wash every couple of days. I have enough to do this and still keep him in cloth. His nappies go into a lidded bucket with no water or anything until I wash them. Normal wash and a bit of sunshine does the trick. Sometimes I wash nappies every day but only if he's having a pooey day or if I throw a few in with the clothes! Moo goes through about 5 nappies per day at the most but he is now over 15 months old. When he was a newborn he'd have at least 12 changes per day which is normal. I don't have him in cloth at night, only sposies.

I kept Moo in sposies until he was about 6 weeks old. This was because he pooped at least twice every single feed! I would change him halfway through his feed (in the hope that he didn't poop again!) and again once he finished the feed! But changing him was so easy as I'd just lay him down in front of me where I was feeding in bed.

[Teeki]

Thanks again everyone! I went on the Baby Beehinds website, and I can already feel an addiction coming on lol. I'm getting the hang of it now I reckon, have figured out what fitteds, all in ones etc are. Hooray!